After five years of renovations, the Palais de la Découverte will begin its gradual reopening on June 11, 2025. Located in the west wing of the Grand Palais, the Parisian science museum will host a festival called Premières ondes (First Waves), alongside a temporary exhibition dedicated to artificial intelligence. This will be a way to mark its return before the renovations are fully completed by the end of 2026.
A partial reopening before a full return in 2026
The partial reopening was made possible despite ongoing interior renovations. Bruno Maquart, President of Universcience, stated that the goal was to welcome the public back this year, without waiting for the permanent exhibition to be finalized. To achieve this, the museum has focused on a rich program: artistic installations, evening events, scientific dictation, a Fête de la Musique, and interactive workshops will punctuate the first few months. The Children's Palace, a space for children aged 2 to 10, will also open on June 11 with an exhibition on transparency.
Visitors will rediscover some iconic features, such as the planetarium and the static electricity experiment, but will also discover new features. A digital telescope, installed on the roof, will allow daytime observation of the deep sky above Paris. The museum's design has been redesigned to showcase a constantly evolving science, brought to life by the presence of 42 scientific mediators.
Antoine Petit, president of the CNRS, a partner of the museum, reiterated the importance of showing science "on the move, with all that it knows and all that it doesn't know." This new Palais aims to be a place of open knowledge, combining research, popularization, and artistic creativity.
The full reopening, planned for the end of 2026, will be accompanied by a new permanent offering and redesigned facilities to make the Palais de la Découverte a place of experimentation that meets contemporary scientific challenges.
